Maan Singh was commanded [by Akbar] to march beyond the Indus and put down the rebellion in Kabul. The great commander hesitated as the river Indus was the limit for the the medieval ‘Hindu’. The point at which the river was traditionally crossed (by non-Hindus) had been labelled by the ‘Hindus’ as the uttuk (Attock) or barrier. Responding to the hesitation of Maan Singh, Akbar wrote a couplet to be sent to Maan Singh:
Sub hain bhum Gopal ka
Jis me uttuk kahan?
Jis ke man me uttuk hai
So een uttuk hoega.
The whole earth belongs to God
Where is the barrier in it?
He whose mind has a barrier
Will always find itself bound.
Maan Singh crossed the river and crushed the rebellion in Kabul.
(Manoshi Bhattacharya – The Royal Rajputs – Strange Tales and Stranger Truths, Rupa, 2017)
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